The U.S. market for household cleaning products cleaned up post-recession earlier this decade. The market bounced back from a slowdown and grew to $7.3 billion in 2007. A new report from Packaged Facts, Household Cleaning Products in the U.S., forecasts the market to continue growing at a slow-and-steady 2% rate, reaching $8.1 billion by 2012.

It seems that the hot spot for accelerated growth and highly profitable sales is in higher-end, eco-friendly products. Green household products have fully penetrated natural foods stores, but finding space in traditional mass-market channels is still a challenge. Home improvement and housewares chains have also jumped on board, along with some department stores. Marketers stand to benefit a great deal from "ethical" cleaning products, with half of Americans between the age of 18 and 29 saying they are willing to spend more for products labeled as organic, environmentally friendly, or fair trade.

"The demand for hybrid brand products and cross-category functional products is also likely to continue growing in the future," comments Cathy Minkler, associate editor of Packaged Facts. "As several consumer trends converge, such as eco-friendly, obsessions with clutter, and convenience, we expect to see more products promoted as a total cleaning solution for the home."